Double-barreled small-arm.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

J. CARTER. DOUBLE BARRELED SMALL ARM.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 24, 1905.

2 ISHEBTSSHEET 1.

WITNESSES PATENTED DEC 12, 1905.

J. CARTER. DOUBLE BARRELED SMALL ARM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- nnrrnn s'ra'rns PATENT OFFICE.

w w r P 7 JOHN CARTER, OF SPARKBROOK, ENGLAND, ASSIGNGR TO'THE WEBLEY' AND SCOTT REVOLVER AND ARMS COMPANY LIMITED, OF BIRMING HAM, ENGLAND.

PQUBLE BARBELED SMALL-4mm.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application fileii July 24,1905, Serial No- 270,982.

To all whom it may concern: t

Be it known that I, J oHN CARTER, foreman of department, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 182 Walford road, Sparkbrook, near Birmingham, England, have in- .vented certain new and useful Improvements in Double-Barreled Small-Arms, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to double-barreled sporting-guns and other small-arms,-and has for one of its objectsnto provide such guns with a novel construction of lock mechanism having two distinct triggers which are each capable of both a single and a double actionthat is to say, each trigger can have a single action for firing its corresponding barrel only or it may have a double action in which it is adapted to operate the sea-rs pertaining to the separate locks of the two barrels in succession,

the order of firing the said barrels being dependent uponthe particular trigger selected and used in shooting, so that a sportsman may at his option by pulling the right-hand trigger only as a double-acting one discharge the right barrel first, followed by the left barrel, or by using the left-hand trigger as a doublekacting one fire the left barrel first, followed by the right barrel. Thus the shooter may either use this gun in the same Way as an ordinary two-trigger one, or he may discharge both barrels in rapid succession and in either order by selecting and operating one of the ,triggers only and without shifting his finger from one trigger'to the other,and consequently disturbing his aim, and thereby all the advantages of selective single-trigger mechanisms may be obtained without their unreliability and other attendant disadvantages.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the said selective duplex-trigger mechanism that after the first discharge the pulling of either trigger will positively insure the discharge of the remaining loaded barrel, so that in the event of a considerable interval of time elapsing after the firing of the first barrel it will not be necessary for the sportsman to haveto remember by which particular trigger the first shot was fired in order to insure the pulling of the correct trigger for-obtaining the second discharge. a

A still further object is to provide in conjunction with the said mechanism an automatic safety crates in common upon both triggers and the 7 barrel.

Fig. 3 is a 'ism in which the blade of the left-hand trig- ,the left barrel in advance of the showing the-positions device or intercepter which opparts connected therewithfor the purpose of preventing unintentional discharge 'of the second barrel by the involuntary pull or pressure which is exertedby the shooters finger -'upon the trigger employed as a consequence ofthe recoil set up by the firing of the first i 1 of' the accompanying drawings represents an elevation of the left-hand side of a double-barrel hammerless sporting-gun with the stock and side plates removed, the" same being fitted or provided with a selective duplex-trigger-lock mechanism constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, and in which, furthermore, the triggercoupling device 1s so formed and mounted that it will also serve asameans for automatically preventing the unintentional discharge of the second barrel by the involuntary pull exerted'upon the trigger as a consequence of the recoil from the first discharge. In this view the several parts of the said lock mechanism are shown in the positions which they assume when both hammers of the gun are cocked ready for firing, but before the safe is taken off to allow either of the triggers to be pulled. Fig. 2 is a view showing the right-hand side of the gun with all the parts in the same positions as shown in Fig. 1

sectional elevation of the mechanger is brokenaway, so as to show more clearly the disposition and arrangement of the sliding clutch or trigger-coupling while the safety hasbeefl pushed off, so as to leave both triggers free to be pulled at the shoote'rs option. The coupling-slide is also caused-to assume the'position in which it is represented in this view bythe recoil set up by the discharge of the first barreL. Fig.4 shows the'positions in which the parts are placed when the lefthand trigger is pulled first for discharging right barrel and just before the sear-nose is taken out of bent with the hammer. Fig. 5 is a' view whichthe parts of the mechanism are caused to assume by the action-of-the involuntary pull after the first discharge-that is to say, it indicates how the two'triggers are coupled together by the sliding clutch device, which is placed (as will be hereinafter fully described) by, the action of the recoil from the first discharge in an inoperative orv intermediate position with respeci V to the triggers and is there momentarily retained by a spring-catch device which is,

" however, immediately freed or-disengaged by the movement made by the operated trigger under the efiect of the involuntary pull, and the clutch is then taken into coupling engagement with the two triggers by means of its own spring, as shown in this said Fig. 5, so that whichever trigger is next pulled will actuate the second scar and fire the second barrel. Fig. 6 shows the positions'of the parts when the two triggers have been coupled together and they are lifted in unison by the pulling of one or other of them for as single or double acting triggers, as hereinafter described. The tails 16 of the sears 17 18, pertaining to the right and left hand locks. are arranged to lie,respectively, upon the top edges of the said blades, so that when either trigger is raised its sear will be actuated and thecorrespondingbarreldischarged. Located within the space between the two triggerblades and normally resting upon the bottom strap is a trigger-coupling plate or clutch-slide 19, which is capable of both a sliding movement and a tilting or rocking motion under the influence of certain other elements of the mechanism, as hereinafter described; butitis nevertheless loosely or freely mounted upon the said bottom strap that is to say, it is not positively connected to any other part of the mechanism-so that it is adapted, by virtue of its own inertia, to change its position or be subjected to a longitudinal displacement relative to the whole of the other parts of the gun when the latter rebound collectively under the influence of the recoil from a discharge. In order to augment the inertia of thesaid loose clutch-plate, its after end is weighted at 20, while to provide for its longitudinal and angular movements without interfering with its freedom of action under re-,

coil its forward end has a rounded head or fulcrum 21, which engages within a slot 22 in the base of the lump 14 and is free to rock and also to slide in both directions therein. The said clutch-plate is provided on its opposite sides with studs or lateral projections 23 24, adapted to engage, respectively, with gaps or locking-notches 25 26, cut in the after parts of the right and left hand trigger-blades for the purpose of coupling the two triggers together after the first barrel has been discharged and the effects of the involuntary pull have been neutralized; but normally, or when both hammers of the gun are cocked ready for firing, the plate is maintained in its forward position (as represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 7) and the studs are held clear of the trigger-notches by means of a catch or intercepter device 27 engaging with a stop-shoulder 28. This intercepter consists of a flat spring of suflicient width to overlap both the clutch-plate and the blades of the two triggers, and it is mounted at one end on the summit of a fixed post 29, while the other and free end carries a tooth'30, the stopshoulder with which the said tooth engages being slightly undercut or formed in such a manner that when. the spring is lifted by means of one or other of two upright extension-pieces 31 32 of the trigger-blades it will raise the clutch-plate with it, and thus take the studs on the said plate out of their normal alinement with the corresponding lockingnotches in the trigger-blades. The intercepter holds the clutch-plate in its forward position in opposition to the force exerted in a rearward direction by a light spring 33, arranged in rear of the lump 14:, to which one end is fixed, while the other end is free and bears against the front edge of the clutchplate. This spring is capable of sliding the said plate rearward and'engaging its studs with the locking-notches in the trigger-blades vwhen the plate itself is freed from the retaining catch; but, on the other hand, the force which it exerts is so slight that it offers no obstacle to the relative displacement of the said clutch-plate by virtue of its own inertia when the gun recoilsi The loosely-mounted clutch-plate, in addition to coupling together the triggers, is also utilized in conjunction with its retaining-catch or intercepter as the means for preventing the unintentional firing of the second barrel by the involuntary pull which follows the first discharge, its action in this respect being hereinafter fully described in dealing with the sequence of operations involved in the firing of the two barrels. For the purpose of disassociating or uncoupling the two triggers and restoring the whole of the parts to their normal positions after one or both of the barrels have been fired the rocking safety-limb 34 is also utilized as a resetting device, which acts upon the clutch-plate and pushes same forward when the top lever '35 is actuated for unbolting the gun prior to opening same. This limb-is pivoted to the top of the lump 14;, and its upper end is engaged with an ordinary slide 36, which is connected with the top lever in the usual way and is pushed backward when the said top lever is operated, while its lower end 37 is adapted, when the gun is at safe, to overlap the inclines 38 on the trigger-blades, and so render it impossible. for either trigger to be pulled until the safety- IIC ' ing theslidev forward.

limb has been moved clear of same by push- The resetting of the clutch-plate is accomplished by the said safety-limb in its. forward swinging motion striking against as'houlder 39 on 'the said Plate.- I I Oper'ationrWheri the gun is closed after loading, the several parts of the lock mechanism are placed in the positions in which of the triggereblades and the clutch-plate, as

represented in Fig. 3, andth'e gun is then in acondition forfiring either barrel first at the shooters option and according as to whether he pulls the right trigger before the left 0:3 the left trigger before the-right one, so th initial discharge will take place in the corresponding barrel. Assuming that the shooter elect, therefore-,to fire the left barrel first, he pulls the left-hand trigger, whose blade acts upon the sear-tail 16 and actuates the sear 18 so that the left-hand hammer is released and fires the cartridge in the selected barrel; but simultaneously with this operation the upright extension-piece 32 is caused by the lifting of the trigger-blade to act against the intercepterspring 27 and raise thesame into the position shown in Fig. 4' in advance of the actuation of the sear and before the discharge can take" place, and by reason of the interlocking en-' gagement' of the intercepter-tooth and thestop-shoulder 28 the elevation of the said intercepter also constrains the clutch-plate to make an upward angular movement upon its fulcrum end. This takes the studs ,of the clutch-plate out of their normal alinement with the locking-gaps in the trigger-blades, and places all the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 4. The discharge ofv the left barrel now takes place, and the recoil throws back the Whole of the gun against the s'hooters shoulder, less the clutch-plate, which by virtue of its loose mounting and its inertia, augmented by the weighted after end 20, makes a relative forward movement, so that in' stead of the said clutch-plate escaping from its retaining-catch and moving rearwardlyunder the influence of the spring 33 into the position in which it couples together the triggers the tooth 30 comes again into full engagement with the stop-shoulder 28, as shown in-Fig. 3, and thus the clutch-plate is caught or intercepted and held in the same position with respect to the trigger-blades as it assumed before the trigger was pulled. The forward rebound of the gun from the shoulder which follows the recoil jerks the trigger the operated trigger the pulling that one.

.pleted and the whole against the shootersfinger and-causes the in-.

voluntary .pull, which is utilized in disenigaging the intercepter from the clutch-plate, ;so as to allow same to be'taken' rearward by Eits spring into coupling engagement with the trigger-plates. Thus the effect of the involuntary pull upon the trigger is such as to lift'the intercepter-tooth quite clear of the stop-shoulder 28. The spring 33 then drives the clutch-plate'rearwardly, and immediately hasbeen fully lowered,

so as to bring both locking-notches of the trigger-blades into alinement with the studs 23 24, the said studs pass into engagement with the said notches .and are there retainedby the pressure'of thesaid spring 33, assisted also by .the'mtercepter, whose tooth now bears upon the incline forward of the shoulder 28,

as represented in Fig. 5. The two triggers are thus coupled together by the clutch-plate so that these three elements can only move collectively or in unison, as shown in Fig. 6,

and the firing of the next barrel-41. a, the right-hand onecanbe effected either by pulling the left-hand trigger again or by shifting nger onto the right-hand trigger and Whichever trigger is utilized, the blade of the left-hand is made to act .upon the tail of the left-hand sear and fire the corresponding barrel. After both barrels have been discharged, the manipulation of the top lever for undoing the bolt of the gun forces the safety-slide rearward ly in the usual manner, and this has the effect of rocking the safety limb, whose toe 37' in swinging forward impinges against the resetting-shoulder 39 and carries the clutch-plate with it, thus disengaging the studs 23 24 from the notches 25 26 and disassdciating the triggers from one another and at the same time bringing the shoulder 28 once more in front of the tooth of the intercepter, so that after the gun has beenopened to recock the hammers and then closed the sequence of operations is comof the parts are restored again to the normal positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, ready for firing.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to laim iand secure by Letters Patentis. v

1'. n selective duplex-trigger mechanism for double-barrel guns; the combination with two separate triggers each adapted to directly actuate the-sear of the corresponding barrel when pulled for obtaining the first discharge, of a sliding clutch-plate or coupling adapted to be'engaged, by a spring, with the triggerblades for connecting them together after the first discharge; means being also provided for holding the clutch or coupling out of engagement with the trigger-blades until after the first'shot has been fired, for preventing accidental or unintentional discharge of the second barrel by the involuntary pull set up by the recoil from the first discharge, and for disengaging and resetting the clutch'device after each discharge of one or both barrels, substantially as herein described.

2. In selective duplex-trigger mechanism for double-barrel guns, the combination with two separate triggers whose blades are each adapted to act directly upon its sear when the corresponding trigger is pulled for firing the first barrel and which are clutched or coupled together after the first discharge so that the pulling of either trigger will then fire the second barrel, of a free or loosely mounted and weighted clutch-slide, provided-with a spring which tends to engage same with the trigger-blades, and an intercepter which normally holds the said slide out of engagement with the said blades and is disconnected therefrom by the pulling of either trigger, and is also adapted to admit of the relative movement of the said slide by virtue of its own inertia when the gun recoils; the several parts operating in such a manner that the clutch cannot be moved into coupling connection with the trigger-blades until the involuntary pull following the recoil from the first discharge has been utilized to disengage the intercepter from the said slide, substantially as herein described and also as set forth in'the drawings.

3. In a selective duplex-trigger mechanism for double-barrel guns, the combination with the two triggers or trigger-blades and a clutch device for connecting together and disconnecting said triggers of a combined safety limb and resetting device adapted to disengage the clutch and restore same to its normal or inoperative position when the bolt-lever of the gun is moved, substantially as herein described and set forth.

4:. A duplex-trigger mechanism for doublemeans, means for resetting the latter toits normal inoperative position, and a safetyele ment cooperative therewith for locking the trigger-blades. I v y 5. A duplex-trigger mechanism including trigger-blades, a movable element for auto matically coupling said blades and for rele'as ing the same,- means for resetting said' couplingelement, and a safety device operated by the resettingmeans for lockinglthesaid trig-f ger-blades.

, 6. A duplex-trigger mechanism having: a

movable cou plingelement, an intercepter comtrolling the displacementof the said coupling element, and means for returning the said coupling element to a normal inoperativepw sitiorrand for locking, the triggers.

7. Ina duplex-trigger mechanism, pivotal trigger-blades separated from-one another, a

movable coupling element interposed between the blades, a resetting device 'for returningthe said coupling element to aninoper'ative position, a safety limb actuated by theresetting device for locking the said blades,-and a yieldable intercepter arranged within the pathof movement of the said coupling element for controlling the'movement of the same.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto setv my hand in presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

J OHN CARTER.

Witnesses:

HENRY SKERRETT, IDA B. SoDEN. 

